RIYADH, 17 January — Two agreements -- one on foreign office consultation and the other on combating crime and drug trafficking -- will be signed during the visit of India's Minister of External Affairs Jaswant Singh who will be arriving here Friday night, according to Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad.
Singh's two-day visit will be a new landmark in Saudi-Indian relations, Ahmad told a press conference here, also attended by Zikr-ur-Rahman, first secretary at the Indian Embassy.
Jaswant Singh, who is arriving in Riyadh via Paris, will be accompanied by K.V. Rajan, permanent undersecretary at the Ministry of External Affairs, Swash Pawan Singh, joint secretary, and R.S. Jassan, the foreign office spokesman in New Delhi.
A 17-member press team comprising 15 journalists from the print media and two from the broadcasting service, will arrive here today to cover the visit. A fully equipped media center has been set up at the Riyadh Palace Hotel.
The ambassador said the agreement on foreign office consultation will provide for a regular exchange of views on issues of mutual concern, whether at the regional or international level.
Another agreement on combating crime and drug trafficking will be signed by Minister of Interior Prince Naif. The ambassador told Arab News in a separate interview that the increase in drug smuggling cases involving Indian nationals was a matter of concern to India.
The ambassador said the framework for cooperation in the field of security was laid during the visit of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to Riyadh in 1982. A joint communiqué issued by the two countries underlined the need for ensuring peace and stability in South Asia and the Arabian Gulf, referring the region as "integrated and indivisible." The document is still valid in the current context, he added.
Describing Saudi-Indian relations as strong, the ambassador said they were set to grow as there would be a fivefold increase in Indian oil imports from the Kingdom over the next five years. India imports annually 7.5 million tons of crude oil from Saudi Arabia constituting 20 percent of its total imports.
Replying to a question on Kashmir, the ambassador said it "will certainly figure during the talks" between Singh and Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal.
